Maurice Saxby pays tribute to Ivan Southall as 'one of the foremost writers of the modern era in Australian children's literature', an innovator who was 'the first to use mental monologue along with the present continuous tense in Australian children's literature' and in doing so, produced novels in which 'the reader was invited to share the sensory and emotional life of the protagonist' (2). Saxby says that it was 'not only Southall's writing skill but his personal integrity that won him numerous literary honors' (2). He won the Australian Children's Book of the Year three times and 'the coveted British award, the Carnegie Medal' (2). He also received the Australian Council Emeritus Award for his services to children's literature and was a member of the Order of Australia. Saxby also includes some biographic details of Southall's life, describing him as 'an Aussie battler made good' (2).
Susan La Marca discusses a number of different styles and approaches in contemporary children's fantasy fiction and notes that 'few fantasies appear as stand alone books, there is almost always a series' (6). She describes traditional fantasy series as 'big stories with intertwined subplots that take a number of books to get through the action' and contrasts this with recent trends towards an episodic style of 'self contained stories that contribute to a bigger story' (6). She discusses a number of series as examples of how fantasy can be 'simultaneously formulaic and inventive' in the ways they play with and/or subvert the traditional fantasy structure (6). She includes Emily Rodda's series Rondo and Deltora Quest, Michael Pryor's Laws of Magic and Isobelle Carmody's Little Fur, in her discussion of fantasy stories that 'create whole and complex worlds with a continuing story of growth and change' (6).
Clare Kennedy prefaces her review of Maureen McCarthy's new novel Somebody's Crying (Viewpoint: On Books for Young Adults 17.1 (2009): 13) with an account of some of the events and experiences that have influenced McCarthy's writing. Kennedy includes some conversational quotes from McCarthy who grew up on a farm in Yea, 'the ninth out of ten children' and remembers her childhood as 'pretty bloody brutal' adding, 'I was very neglected'. (12)
McCarthy's narratives originate from actual events and Somebody's Crying was inspired by the case of a young man accused of his aunt's murder and released due to lack of evidence. As part of her research, McCarthy read up on psychology as well as visiting a number of small towns and found the drug abuse in one community particularly disturbing: 'A lot of people in this town are blowing their brains out with drugs. The psych wards are half-full of kids having psychotic episodes on very strong dope.' (12)
McCarthy has recently endured the breakdown of her twenty-five year marriage as well as 'suffering major health problems' however she is sure she will continue to write stories about human experiences and is 'moving to Darwin to reinvent herself.' (13)
